


The Fool

by ovijiaboardz



Category: Love Live! School Idol Festival (Video Game), Love Live! School Idol Project
Genre: Canon Compliant, F/F, Love Confessions, School Idols (Love Live!), Sleepovers, Tarot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-04
Updated: 2019-09-04
Packaged: 2020-10-09 21:57:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,639
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20517077
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ovijiaboardz/pseuds/ovijiaboardz
Summary: Ah! In the maze of dreams, the glass butterfliesWhile tempting me, they're being temptedI'll flap my fingers, as though they're about to breakOur secret romanceAnd even though I want to feel youAll we can do is painfully gaze at each otherThe feelings we can't have as girls who are in love with loveWhy do they have to be so painful? - Garasu No Hanazono





	The Fool

**Author's Note:**

> This oneshot takes place the night before Eli Ayase joined u’s!

Nozomi waited patiently one the steps of the temple. It was a safe and protected place, so she had no worries about pitching a tent and spending the night there. She had permission, too. She stared back at the card - she still hasn’t put it back. 

She ended up consulting the card for a reason - she had felt an adventurous tug in heart heart, and she wanted to know what to do about it. The answer of the cards was the fool - which can represent new beginnings, ambition, and taking that step. She knew Eli wanted to join u’s. She was going to do it soon, too. U’s was meant to have nine members - the last two would be her and Eli. It was only a matter of time. While Eli would be stepping out of her comfort zone to follow her heart, Nozomi would be doing the same by telling her first and closest friend how she truly feels.

The sun had gone down, and the student council president still hasn’t arrived. Nozomi’s emerald tinted eyes wandered across the starry sky. What if she forgot? To her relief, she heard the distinct click of the blonde’s heels in the distance. She smiled softly. She knew Eli Ayase better than that. She would never agree to do something and blow it off. 

“Nozomi, I’m here… I can’t stay up too late though. I’ll have duties to return to in the morning,” she told her with a tired sigh. “Thanks for inviting me out here, though. Did you have a reason in mind?”

That mysterious, distant look returned. “Perhaps,” she inquired. “The cards told me it would be a good idea.” She showed Eli the fool, lifting it and flipping it over for her rather dramatically. As she did, a gust of wind sent ponytails flying with it, fitting for the moment.

“The fool… that sounds a little grim,” Eli commented skeptically. “Ah well, I’m sure you know more about this than I do, so I trust you.”

Nozomi nodded. “It represents ambition, Elicchi. A new beginning. Following your heart can be foolish, but it can also be the best thing you decide to do.”

“Follow my heart?” Eli asked, staring at her. Her azure blue eyes looked even more magical under the gentle light of the full moon. The faint stars twinkled slightly, enhancing the scene further. Nozomi began to pitch the tent, and Eli helped her. “What are you getting at?”

Nozomi giggled softly. “Come on, Elicchi. You want to join U’s, don’t you? You think it’s too late, but it never is.” She pulled out a card from her beloved deck. “The star,” she read, flipping it around to show her. “I’ll join with you. They’ll accept you. I know they will.”

After she finished fluffing her pillows, Eli sighed. “So what if I do?” She answered. “I have duties. I have to save the school, the same goal they have.” She pulled out a notebook to show Nozomi. “This is a speech I wrote. I practiced presenting it in front of my sister and some of her smaller friends but… they found it boring. What do you think?”

Nozomi took the paper and skimmed it over. “The history is important, who would I be to tell you it isn’t? I don’t find this boring, but that’s because, like others, this school has a special place in my heart. The history is meaningful to us, but it wouldn’t mean much to newcomers,” Nozomi told her.

“I appreciate your honestly,” Eli answered with a sigh. “I can’t talk to anyone else about this. I’m so lost. I don’t know what to do. I don’t want to lose the school either! I’ve been so discouraging to them. I’ve told them to give up because of my own expectations.”

Nozomi sat down on her futon. “Yet, they asked for your help. Honoka-san won’t give up. No matter how much power you have, not you, not Mrs. Minami, no one can change her mind. She has a team who will accept you with open arms! So why do you hesitate, why?”

“I can’t ask them. I just can’t. It’s too late. I don’t get why they still want me to help them after I demanded they give up on their goal. Nozomi, there’s nothing I can do.”

“They’ll accept you with open arms,” Nozomi repeated, fumbling with her deck. “Hey. This isn’t the only reason I invited you out here tonight. There’s something I’ve been aching to tell you, but like you, I’ve been afraid. I’m not anymore. I’m following my heart, just as the cards said,” she said firmly. “Is that okay? Can I tell you?”

“What is this all of a sudden… please tell me, I’d really like to know.”

Nozomi gave her that same old mischievous grin, subtle but enough to hint that the girl was up to no good. “On one condition!”

“Come on, really?”

“Yes. I want you to consider joining. Seriously consider it. You don’t have to, and I won’t force you, but I want you to be honest with your own feelings.”

“My feelings are I have a duty to save my school, and I must carry that burden as student council President,” she insisted. 

“You’re so stubborn, it’s quite troublesome,” Nozomi sighed. “Yes, you’re doing that. But please agree to think about what you want. Not your duties, not what’s expected of you. What does your heart want?”

“I get the feeling this is really important to you. If it wasn’t, you would’ve never invited me out here. I’ll think about it, but I’m probably not going to join. I’ll try.”

“Elicchi, I love you,” Nozomi admitted, no hesitation, no thought. She just blurted it out without a care, not considering the consequences or thinking ahead. 

Eli stared at her for a second. “I’m not good at expressing it, but I do love you too, Nozomi,” she said, flustered. “I really do, more than you could ever know.”

Nozomi blushed, unable to control herself. “Elicchi, do you understand?”

“O-of course I do,” she stammered, a certain sadness in her voice. “I’m your most treasured friend. I feel the same about you,” she said. She wanted to grab the vice presdient’s hands right then and there and blurt out what she was really thinking. She was in love with her. Everything about her was her kind of beautiful. She wanted to take Nozomi on dates. She wanted to buy her a ring. She wanted to slow dance with her right then and there, under the moonlight.

They were both girls. What would her grandma think? The student body? Nozomi? Would Nozomi accept her? Would she think she’s weird for having these feelings towards another girl? 

Little did she know, Nozomi was having the same anxieties. She returned her feelings. Two girls in love, each thinking the other saw them as a friend. Nozomi couldn’t take it anymore. She’d spell it out if she had to. “Elicchi. I’m in love with you!” She blurted out, unable to look at the blonde in the eyes. “I’ve been for the longest time… I love being by your side, and you’re the first and best friend I’ve ever had, you’re so kind and welcoming and I feel warm inside,” She rambled. “My heart is always beating faster whenever I’m around you. I know this probably sounds weird, but… I’m in love with you Elicchi. You’re absolutely perfect for me. So what if we’re both girls… if people judge me, let them. These are my true feelings and if you don’t return them that’s okay! I just couldn’t hold it inside anymore.”

To her dismay, Elicchi smiled, then starting giggling. Her nervous giggles quickly erupted into a fit of laughter. “Nozomi, you’re pulling the words right out of my mouth,” she chuckled. “You seriously spared me there I… I feel the same way. I’ve had feelings for you as long as I can remember! Whenever I told you I loved you, and you said it back… it filled me with courage. I felt like even with the whole school on my shoulders, I could preserve.”

Now Nozomi was laughing too. “Isn’t that something?” She mused. “So… what exactly are we going to do about this?”

“I don’t know. My grandmother said I shouldn’t get a boyfriend until I graduate, how would she feel about me dating another girl at seventeen ?”

Nozomi held her finger up to her lips mysteriously. “She doesn’t have to know. No one does,” she said. “Whenever you’re ready, we can tell them.”

Eli nervously glanced around. Nobody else was awake at this hour, but she felt like they were being watched. For once, she didn’t care what her grandmother thought. She loved the women to death, but she also loved Nozomi and she’d just have to deal with it. She supposed she was following the cards that Nozomi mentioned - she was a fool. They both were. But they were two fools in love, chasing their dreams together. It wasn’t so bad, really.

Nozomi took her hands in hers. “It’s going to be okay,” she assured the blonde. Holding Nozomi’s hands, Eli took a deep breath. “We’ll figure it out. It’s okay to be a fool sometimes,” she insisted with a wink, practically reading the student council president’s mind. 

The girls lied in the futon, holding hands and staring at the stars. They were so open tonight, pouring their hearts out to one another. The silence they shared now wasn’t awkward, but intimate. When Eli noticed Nozomi’s eyes fluttering, she kissed her forehead and wished her goodnight. 

“Goodnight Elicchi,” Nozomi whispered sleepily. “I love you.”

“I love you too Nozomi. Thanks for inviting me out here, and thank you for encouraging me to follow my heart.”


End file.
